A week ago, we relayed a claim from Gazzetta dello Sport that Arsenal ‘wanted’ Carlo Ancelotti for the post-Wenger era, causing him to dilly-dally over the offer to become the next Italy manager.
Well, the very same newspaper on Saturday went a little bit further, stating the former Paris Saint-Germain manager is actually ‘attracted’ to the prospect of taking over from Arsène Wenger at the Emirates were the Gunners to make this season the Frenchman’s last in charge of the club.
This is why Ancelotti was said to be ‘fearing’ a phone call from the Italian FA, as he knew it would have been a very difficult job to turn down if put in front of him.
However, it seems the attraction of remaining in club football was too high, as news emerged on Sunday the ex-Chelsea manager did, in fact, say no to the Italy job, although this came from an agent, rather than the man himself, so there’s no official decision just yet.
Doing so would be a bit of a gamble, as there’s no guarantee Arsenal will sack Wenger at the end of the season, whose contract with the club runs out in 2019.
Saturday’s 2-0 over North London rivals Tottenham did the Gunners a world of good in their hunt for a top four finish, closing the gap with Mauricio Pochettino’s side to just one point, even if they still remain 12 points behind leaders Manchester City.
It’s going to be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks, as Ancelotti turning down Italy could end up putting a heap of pressure on Wenger between now and the end of the season.
